Possible GOP presidential candidates court NRA

Friday

Apr 25, 2014 at 10:14 PM

By Sara Burnett THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — Several potential Republican presidential candidates courted gun-rights supporters Friday at the National Rifle Association's annual convention, talking up their pro-gun credentials while imploring the crowd to fight not just for their Second Amendment rights but for other freedoms they say are being threatened.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal addressed the NRA's annual leadership forum, a kind of political pep rally the organization considers one of its premier events. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire also recorded brief videos that were played for the crowd of more than 2,000 inside Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the Indianapolis Colts.

One after another, the possible 2016 contenders thanked the NRA and its members for flexing their considerable political muscle to help push back recent gun-control efforts, including legislation following the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that would have required background checks for gun purchases. They said that same activism will be critical heading into elections this fall, in 2016 and beyond.

Jindal charged that Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both possible Democratic presidential candidates, think the Second Amendment is little more than "a phrase from a speech writer."

"If they had their way, they'd simply cut and paste the Constitution and just get rid of the Second Amendment entirely," said Jindal, who approved several gun rights bills last year, including one that creates stiff penalties for those who knowingly publish the names of gun permit holders.

Rubio opposed limiting gun rights after Sandy Hook, but he also saw his NRA grade drop for his stance on some gun-rights legislation.

He said Friday that being able to provide a safe home for one's family is fundamental to achieving the American dream. And he said that while gun-rights supporters were outraged and saddened by violence such as Sandy Hook, public policy "must be guided by common sense."

"Making it harder for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves has not, does not and will not prevent future tragedies such as these," Rubio said.

Both Santorum and Pence noted their wives share their love of guns. Pence, who approved a measure this year to allow guns in locked vehicles on school property, said that when he met his wife, she had a gun.